LUCERNE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1221, 1 September 1911, Page 8

LUCERNE.

ITS GRAZING VALUE "FOE SHEEP. The vnluo of-Income for sheep gritting is testified to by a contributor to a southern paper who. lias usc-tl it entirely for this purpose. The writer says a paddock of 25 acres of sandy loam resting on papa had boon laid down in grass for. lifteen years. It was- then ploughed and put in rape, after which a heavy crop of Capo barley was taken oil it. Then followed a fairly de;p autumn ploughing. In the spring the ground was worked with .the cultivator, harrowed, and sown with a drill at the beginning of October. As 71b.' of seed was the most the drill would hw conveniently, it was drilled with that nunn'tity, and then cross-drilled with a stroke of the harrows, after which tho ground was rolled and left. The rolling after the sowing of-tho'seed-was, tho writer thinks, a-mistake, as, rain coming on soon afterwards, the ground had a tendency to bako and harden on the top. The proper time for the rolling, would have been just before the drilling, and would have left tho ground solid underneath.

In abont a week the seed begun to come through', and at first appeared to be a splendid strike. However, from thon until they we're threo weeks old a great many of i'lio' plants disappeared; this being the critical time witli them, especially if struck by an untimely frost. After t'hiu they seemed to be past their dclicate stage, and began - to grow very fait. In the middle "of December—that is, abont nine 'or ton' weeks from saving—thoy showed signs of coming into flower. The grass was tliqn fed off, and carried lambs at tho rate of twenty-five por aero for a fortnight. -The paddock was spelled for tho space of two weeks, and on measuring the growth of that timo it was had grown between eleven and twelve inches in' tho fourteen . days. After this the owner continned feeding it off 6ver.v fortnight till the imdd!o\of April, gradually reducing tho number of stock at each feeding as the winter approached. .In the' winter it seemed to disappear altogether, and the farmer thought "it Was- dono for, and that he would have to. replouglt the paddock. However,' it showing green at tho beginning of August, and by the middle of September was ready for stocking again, and looking better than ever. Tho owner put on two-tooth wethers at tho rate of fifteen to tho acre, dividing tho paddock into ■ two breaks—that is, 825 wethers to tho _ tweuty-five acres. These ho kept shifting from break to break every fortnight till a month after woaning, when nearly all went to the freezing works. The paddock was then stocked with lambs at something ovar twenty per acre. These it ..earriod till the enil'of April. Of course,, the number was being gradually reduced as Uio fat ones were drafted out. From this on it carricd eight or ten to tlio acre till tho middle of June, after which it was shut, up for the winter. All this time it neither suffered- from blight, moths, drought nor caterpillars, though tho rape at this time was suffering from all four. It is truo that the lambs did not ■ fatten as quickly ,as they did on rape, and tta experimenter says he would certainly not advise anyone to rely entirely oil lucerne for finishing theni, but in dry districts- that are subject to nests and to Ic-iig periods of drought, lucerne is a grand standby, growing a large quantity of fattening feed when there is not a green blade of anything else to be seen. Tho writer concludes as under:—"l have seen it stated in many articles that it must not bo grazed. This, I think, must now be admitted to be a mistako. Of course, the grazing must bo done carefully, -so as not to eat the crown too bare, but this being watched, it does not seem to deteriorate the plant at all. ."It lins also been stated that shoep die on it. This, as far as my experience goes, IS only true to a very limited extant, as I havo not lost more than six or eight sheep for the two seasons they havo been grazing on this paddock. All soils may not be so well adapted as this paddock for growing lucerne,-,but 1 think when any farmer has soil at all suitable for the purpose it is well worth his while to put in a -feiv acre's as an experiment, as, if it is successful at all, it will well repay him for his trouble. I think it has bsen practically proved that almost any soil will grow it, provided _ tho water does not. stand within fenr feet of the surface, or perhaps even threo feet. If nearer than that the grouad is too so.ur;.-and that is the one thing that lucerne will not stand. Frost does, not seem to hurt it after it is established.. In fact,-once established, -it may be almost looked on as. a tiermanency. v AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT'S ' • OFFER. ' ■ r ;! i, The Department of Agriculture is'oficnng to -assist limited number of fn rmers in the. establishment of one-acre plots of lucerne.. On application to the Direci^ r ll . , fields and Experiment Farms, niMington, there will be supplied nt a railway station or shipping port which 5 convenient to tho Department. J:'?; oflncsr'iie seed, 7501b. of lime, and JaOII), of soil from an established lucerne field. luc cost, in'tho farmor will be tho rculago or freight and -cartage to his.own farm. "He ivill'bo required to use- the seed, lime, and soil .on well-prepared ground one acre in extent. This plot is to-'-bo divided into quarters. -On one-quar-ter tho lucerne seed only will be sown, on the second quartoi;. seed and 3751b. .of JiiTiO, on the. third quarter seed and 751b. of .soil for'inoculation,,and on the fourth quarter 3751b. of lime and 751b. of inoculating soil, to obtain tho best results tho land should bo -of. fair .quality,-,in. a high state, of fertility, the subsoil open, the drainage good, and tho cultivation calculated .to free the land of weeds. The seed beds sliould be firm and well worked, and the lime should be evenly-dis-tributed. The soil for inoculation should be broadcaslcd immediately before mowing the. lucerne seed, and it sliould bo harrowed and rolled. After the work is completed n plough furrow should bo drawn around l the plot, and also along tlio lines dividing the plot into quarters. Tho Department a<ks that a careful record bo taken of the date of sowing the ."rati, also of its first appearance. The' divisions of the acre, "No treatment."' ''Limed," "Soil Inoculated," and "Limed a.id Soil Inoculated," should be noted. In return for the se?d, etc., the.Department asks careful cultivation, drilling, attention, and a report on the result.